goldson



W. H GOLDSON.

BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26. m9.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

W. H. GOLDSON.

- BOAT.

APPLICA''ION FILED SEPTZB, 1919. Patented Apr. 11

4 suns-sneer 2- W. H. GOLDSON.

BOAT.

I I APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26.1919.

4 SHtE T$SHEET J, WW.

w. H. eowsow.

BOAT. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26,1919. 1,4125 17. rmted Apr. 11, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

PATENT OFFICE.

7 WILLIAM H. GOLDSON, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

Application filed September 26, 1919. Serial No. 326,486.

sir/Mn it may concern Known that I. V"

like I H. GoLnsoN, a citizen of the United ii)...LGS of lmerica, a resident of Oalrlanthin the county of Ala- 1 ratcof California have invented certain new and useful Improvements in I a of which the following is a full. clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this soecification. My invention relates to improvements in boats. Generally stated an object of theinvention is to provide means whereby the UHHSZDIHZMI'IIOID the propellers is most effectively utilized. Another object is to produce a strong and durable tunnel structu wherein the propellers are mounted in sucha manner that the boat can be effectively driven either in shallow water or deep water. v

In the preferred form of the invention, the boat is provided with an overhanging false stern, and propeller tunnels are formed under this false stern. A transverse inlet is formed at the forward ends of the tunnels to provide for the admission of water to all of the tunnels and the water. drawn tillfilljiill this inlet passes tothepropellers, .1 preferably lie in the forwardends whi the tunnels.

Another object is to produce a tunnel structure ofthis kind in which the sides of s firmly secured and rigidly resist the lateral pressure of the brewed to PM a e, .1. 1 flu streams or tater use large. 110m 1., pro pellers.

Vitl the foregoing and other Ob]GCtS 1n I e invention comprises the novel contion. comb .tion and arrangement of rts ereinafter more specifically described and i iustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein shown the preferred embodillowever, is to be ention comprehcnds aariations and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.- I

Figzl is a side elevation of the-rear'portion of a boat constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. II is a longitudinal section taken through the rear portion of the boat. 7

- Fig. III is an inverted plan view of the structure shown by Figs. I and II.

Fig. IV is a top or plan view, showing the elements at the rear end of, the boat.

1 .llllti Fig. V is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section showing a means for adjusting one of the deflector wings.

Fig. VI is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the means for locking the adjustable deflector wing.

' Fig. VII is a fragmentary view, illustrating the rear end portion of one of the deflector wings.

Fig. VIII is a vertical section showing a portion of one of the tunnel walls and portions of deflector win s closely fitted to the tunnel wall.

Fig. IX is a detail view, showing one of the packing strips at a. margin of the inlet door.

Fig. X is a fragmentary vertical section taken through the inlet ends of thepropeller tunnels.

Fig. XI is a view similar to Fig. X, showing the adjustable deflector wings in the tunnels.

1 designates the hull of a boat provided with a stern ri (Figs. I, II and III) and an overhanging false stern A. 2 designates the. floor, or deck; forming the bottom of the overhanging stern. Longitudinal side wall members 3 extend downwardly from the sides of the overhanging stern. A series of long 'tudinal partitions 3 (Figs. II and III) are, located between and arranged pan allel. with the side wall members 3 to pro- -ridlz-a-series of open-bottom propeller tunnels l3 under the entire bottom of the overhan ng false stern. The side walls 3 and partitions 3 are rigidly secured to the false stern. and they are braced. as will be hereafter described, to produce a very strong tunnel structure.

' Propellers 4: are located in the forward ends of the tunnels at points adjacent to tho. stern Insaid propellers being fixed to r0- tatable saafts 5 passing through the stern A and adapted to be driven by a motor M, shown by dotted lines in Figs. I and II. The forward ends ofthewall members 3 and partitions 3 are separated from the stern A toprovide a transverse inlet passageway U (Figs. II and III) communicating with all of the tunnels B. This inlet passageway preferably extends entirely across the boat, and its ends may be closed by adjustable doors 6 at opposite sides of thcboat. The margins of each'door 6 are preferably provided with yielding strips of 1 side of the boat, and a yielding strip of packing 8 may be mounted in the side of the boat, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. -I. The ends or each door 6 are mounted in vertical guides 9 (Figs. I and III). The means for adjusting the doors 6 (Figs. I, II and III) comprises threaded rods 10, screwed into .brackets ll and having their lower ends secured to said doors. Each door 6 may be provided with a socket 12 adapt'dtoreceive a head 13 (Fig. I) on the lower end of threaded rod 10.

Inclined deflectorwings 14 extend clownwardly'from the forward ends of the tunnels B to the rear ends thereof, so as to form inclinedtop walls for said tunnels, the longitudinal edges of said wings being provided with yielding strips of packing 15., secured by strips of metal 16, as shown in VII and VIII, andadapted to engage the side walls of the "tunnels. The upper end of each deflector wing 14 is pivotally supportedbya hinge 17 '(Fig. II), and to prevent leakage at this point a strip of yielding packing 18, preferably rubber, is interposedbetween the hinge and a floor board 19 20' designates screws (Fig. II) whereby the floor board 19 is removably secured to the Boat. i

l The means for adjustin the deflector wings is shown in If, IV and V. A vertical adjusting screw 21 is located over each wing 14 and arranged in a column 22, provided with a head23, the latter being threaded to receive the adjusting screw.

" Each adjusting s crew 21 is connected to a rod 245by means of a universal point 25. 26,.

desiguatesa ball and socket joint (Fig. V), whereby the lower end of rod 24 is connected to "deflector wing 14. Each adjusting screw 21 is provided with an operating wheel 27, which maybe rotated to raise and lower the screw in the head 23, thereby raising and lowerin the deflector wing 14 F i'o'which the'screw 1s connected.

To illustrate a suitable means for locking the deflector wings (Figs. II, IV, VI and VII); I have shown teeth 28 on the rear edges of the longitudinal tunnel walls, and flat springs 29 adapted to interlock with these teeth. Each spring 29 (Figs. VI and VII) may be secured to the rear edge of a win g 1.4 by means of fastening devices 30, leaving the projecting ends of the spring free to be forced away from the deflector \"ving. T-olock a deflector wing, the free ends of spring 29 interlock with the teeth 28 (Fig. VI), and the wing may be unlocked by bending the end portions of spring 29 to release them from the teeth 28. "The means for bending the springs 29 to unlock thedefiector wings comprises cam s 31 secured to shafts 32. Each cam 31 engages an end portion of a spring 29, and by referring to Fig. VIIit will be seen that the cams are adapted to force the end portions of the spring away fIQmthB deflector wing, so as to release the spring from the teeth 28 shown in Fig. VI. The means for operatdeflector wings 14 can therefore be unlocked independently of each other, and they can also be adjusted independently of each other.

Suction chambers 38 (Figs. II, III and X) are located over the propellers l, each of said chambers having an open lower end large enough to receive a column of water which overlies the entire propeller. upper portion of each suction chamber is The provided with a suction pipe 39 (FigII) adapted to be connected to a pump (not shown). wherebywater may be drawn into the suction chamber. VVhenthe boatis operated in shallow water, a. column of water may be maintained in each suction chamber 38, and this would enable the propellers to more effectively perform their functions in shallow water. )Vhen the boat is heavily loaded and operated indeep water,the inlet doors '6 may be opened and the deflector wings 14 may be elevated to lie entirely within the upper portions of the tunnels. In very shallow water the inlet doors 6 may be adjusted to their lowermost positions, as shown in the drawings, but they are preferably elevated as high as possible without withdrawing their lower margins from the water. An adjustment of this kind would allow the water to freely pass under the lower margins of the inlet doors, and when discharged from the propellers, the streams of water would strike the inclined deflector.

locating the ruddersat the rear ends of partitions 3y, ashhere'in shown, the streams of waterdisch'argedfrom the tunnels will forcibly strike the rudders, thereby causing the body to'respond quickly to" an adjust ment of the steering mechanism. I

The rudder shafts 41 are free to move llh walls are rigidly connected together.

vertically in stufing boxes 42, and the lower edge of each rudder is inclined upwardly, as shown at 43 in Figs. I and II, so as to enable the rudder to be forced upwardly when its forward end strikes an obstruction. This will enable the rudders to pass freely over obstructions without injury to the steering n'iechanism.

To obtain the best results under different operating conditions, the'rudders can be adjusted vertically through the medium of ad- "iust-ing devices shown in Figs. II and IV.

collar 44 is fixed to each rudder shaft, and a collar 45 is loosely mounted on said shaft. .lhe rudder is free to rise without lifting the l ose collar 45, but if the collar 45 is elevated it will cooperate with the fixed collar 44 to lift the rudder. A long operating-shaft 46 is provided with forks 47 (Figs. II and IV), having slotted ends adapted to receive pins on the loose collars 45. An operating handle is provided with a latch rod49 adapted to interlock with teeth on a quadrant 50. This operating handle is fixed to the shaft 46, to which the forks 47 are secured, and since these forks are secured to the loose collars 45, it will be readily understood that the operating handle may be actuated to simultaneously adjust all of the rudders.

By locating the inlet doors 6and the inlet passageway G entirely at the front of the tunnels, I enable the tunnelwalls 3 and 3' to be rigidly braced and p .rmanently secured in fir-zed positions. This is quite important,

for the tunnel walls must withstand the lateral pressure of the streams ,of water discharged from the propellers and if'these wa ls; should be displaced they would not properly engage the adjustable deflector wings. l4,,.which are closely fitted to said walls. 'The means for bracing the tunnel walls 3 and 3 inc-ludes transverse' braces 51 whereby the lower margins of all of these U The braces 51 lie below the tunnel walls, and one of them is located near the rear ends of the tunnels, while the others lie near the propellers at the intake ends of the tunnels.

Cylindrical shells, preferably consisting of semicircular sections 52. and 52, are arranged around the propellers, said shells located between and securedto the londinal walls of the tunnels, as shown in 1. III. and X. These shells prevent lateral displacement of, the water at the propellers, so the several streams are forcibly discharged rcarwardly from the propellers and through the open bottom tunnels. The water at the propellers can not escape by passing downwardly, and when the deflector wings 14 are elevated, the forcible streams discharged rearwardly in horizontal lines will not be dissipated by the escape of water at the open bottoms of the tunnels. As a further step to avoid power losses by lateral displacement of the streams of water, abutments 53 (Figs. II and XI) extend downwardly from the longitudinal margins of each deflector wing 14 to receive the current of water discharged from the shell around the adjacent propeller. These abutments are located in the upper corners of the propeller tunnels, and they have curved abutment faces conforming approximately to the curved upper portions of .the shells around the propellers.

The longitudinal abutments 53 brace the deflector wings l4, and the cylindrical shells 5252 (Fig. X) serve as braces for the longitudinal walls of the tunnels. Diagonal braces 54 (Fig. X) connect the sen'iicircular shell members 52 to one of the transverse braces 51,- which lies directly below the shells. These diagonal braces extend from the shell members 52 to the corners formed at the junctions of brace 51 and the tunnel avails.

not necessary for the tunnel structure to extend below the level of the bottom of the boat. This is quite desirable for a boat intended to be used in shallow water. The transverse' intake passageway C (Figs. II and III) can be conveniently formed between the forward ends of the tunnels and the stern A. lVhen the intake doors 6 are open, the water will freely enter this large intake. and the power transmitted to the tiropellers will be effectively transmitted to the streams of water confined inthe tunnels. All of the tunnels are in free communication with the transverse intake, so the main stream entering the large intake is divided into a number of smaller forcible streams, and the combined widths of these forcible streams may be approximately equal to the width of the boat. A very powerful boat for either deep or shallow water can therefore be made by the use of the series of tunnels under the false stern.

I claim: 1. A boat liayii.i;. a hull provided with a stern, an overhanging false stern extending bottom of said, overhanging false stern, propellers in the iorward ends of said tunnels located adjacent to the first mentioned stern, the forward ends of said partitions being separated from the first mentioned stern to provide a tranverse inlet passageway, communicating with all of said tunnels, adjustable doors at the sides of the boat adapted to open and close the ends of said transverse inlet passageway, inclined deflector wings extending downwardly from the forward ends of said tunnels to the rear ends thereof, so as to form inclined top walls for said tunnels, the longitudinal edges of said deflector wings being closely fitted to the rigidly fixed partitions, pivots securing the upper ends of said deflector wings, and means for adjusting said wings. V

2. A boat provided with a hull having elongated side wall members extending downwardly from its rear end, longitudinal partitions arranged between said side wall members to form a series of open bottom propeller tunnels under said rear end, propellers in the forward ends of said tunnels, said elongated side wall members and l0ngitudinal partitions being rigidly fixed to the hull of the boat, inclined deflector wings forming the top walls oi said propeller tunnels, the upper ends of said inclined deflector wings being pivoted at the forward ends of the tunnels, the longitudinal edges of each deflector wing at the side of the hull, being closely fitted to the side wall member and longitudinal partition between which they are confined, the intermediate deflector wings being closely fitted to the longitudinal partitions between which they are confined, means for raising and lowering said deflector wings on their pivots, and means whereby water is admitted from the sides of the hull to the forward ends of all of said tunnels.

A boat having a longitudinal propeller tunnel, said tunnel being formed under the bottom of the boat, a propeller whereby water is forced through said tunnel, a cylindrical shell arranged around said propeller to confine the water discharged therefrom, an inclined deflector wing arranged at the rear of said shell to form the top wall of said tunnel, and abutments extending downwardly from the longitudinal margins of said deflector wing to receive the current of water discharged from said cylindrical shell.

, 4. A boat having a longitudinal propeller tunnel, said tunnel being formed under the bottom of the boat, a propeller whereby 't'orming; approximately to the upper portion of said cylindrical shell.

'5. A boatprovided with a hull having elongated side, wall members extending downwardly from its rear end, longitudinal partitions arranged between said side wall members to form a series of open bottom propeller tunnels under said rear end, a propeller in theforward end of each of said tunnels, a cylindrical shell arranged around each of said propellers to confine the water dischargedtherefrom, a suction chamber associated with each propeller tunnel, thelower end of said suction chamber being open and communicating withone of said cylindrical shells to provide for the admission of a column otwater, theopen lower end of said suction chamber being directly over the propeller, andmeans whereby water is admitted from the sides of the boat to the forward ends of all of said tunnels.

G. A boat having a longitudinal propeller tunnel, said tunnel being formed under the Y bottom of the boat, a propeller whereby water is forced through said-tunnel, aicylindrical shell arranged around said 'pro-' peller to confinethe water discharged there- "from, a suction chamber having an open lower end which communicates with said cylindrical shell to provide for the admission of a column of water, the open lower end of said suction chamber being located directly over the propeller, an inclined deflector wing arranged at the rear of said shell 'to form the top wall of said tunnel, and abutments extending downwardly from the longitudinal margins of saiddeflector wing to receive the current of water discharged from said cylindrical shell, said 

